NAME GAME: Naming rights will be sold to the Bandimere
Speedway in Denver. Speedway President/GM John Bandimere
Jr. said "he has pitched the sale of naming rights to
Pennzoil and Chrysler Corp. and is now testing further
interest in a deal" (DENVER POST, 9/18).

NFL VP/Communications Greg Aiello told THE DAILY
yesterday that, contrary to reports, there is no dispute
between the league and the Dolphins over rotating signage at
Pro Player Stadium. Aiello said a large rotating sign at
Pro Player is "not a problem" because it is high enough and
above the goal posts. In addition, no letters have been
sent from the league office to the Dolphins or team Owner
Wayne Huizenga regarding the signage (THE DAILY).

Numbers are "finally being discussed that suggest how
much taxpayers could be asked to contribute" to an East
Valley domed stadium and National Sports Center, according
to Lisa Gonderinger of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. A report by
the East Valley Partnership says a quarter-cent sales tax
could raise "as much as" $223M for the proposed center. The
report also listed "nine potential sites," to include a
"campus-like collection of venues, with a retractable-roof
dome over a stadium that could include both grass and ice
surfaces" for the Cardinals and Coyotes. It also includes a
hotel, convention center, a sports-related theme park that
would include the NFL Experience and Hall of Heroes, and a
sports-entertainment center with shops and restaurants. The
report will now be taken to city officials in Mesa, Tempe,
Scottsdale, Gilbert and Chandler to see whether they want to
create a special stadium district to "hammer out further
details of the project" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 9/19).

Patriots Owner Robert Kraft "is expected to head to
Providence today to complete an accord that would bind the
Patriots to negotiating exclusively" with RI for a stadium
package, according to Tina Cassidy of the BOSTON GLOBE.
Talks "were expected" to go through the weekend with an
announcement by RI Gov. Lincoln Almond planned for Monday.
One of the "sticking points" in the deal is "how an
exclusivity agreement would be defined. Almond wants Kraft
to agree to stop pursuing a stadium proposal in [Foxboro]
while he negotiates with Rhode Island." Sources say Kraft
"accepts the idea of an exclusivity clause but not one that
is 'all encompassing'" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/19). In Providence,
Christopher Rowland reports that Almond was expected in West
Springfield today, and he does not mention a potential
meeting with Kraft. Rowland adds that among issues yet to
be resolved include: Financing and ownership of a stadium
parking garage; development rights for a related hotel,
sports museum, retail shops and restaurants that Kraft would
build; and how the state would be protected if the team
moves before stadium bonds are paid off. An NFL source also
tells Rowland that the future home of Kraft's MLS Revolution
is part of the negotiations (JOURNAL-BULLETIN, 9/19).
ANARCHY: Patriots VP/Communications Don Lowery
responded to comments made by MA House Speaker Thomas
Finneran, who described Kraft as a "whining
multimillionaire" seeking "bribes" to keep the team in MA.
Lowery: "At a time when we would expect leadership from the
State House in resolving this issue, all we have seen is
character assassination and mudslinging." But MA Acting
Gov. Paul Cellucci called Kraft to say "he would try to
quickly pass through the Legislature" a proposal to expand
Foxboro Stadium (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/19). In Boston, business
writer Joan Vennochi: "The truth hurts, but here it is: Bob
Kraft, more than anyone else, is the reason the [Patriots]
appear to be moving. ... His team has many champions. He
doesn't." Vennochi criticizes Kraft's lobbying efforts,
adding that "he continued to get blitzed by the same
defensive team" and while he "believed he could scramble
past them ... he never could" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/19).